Refrigerated display cabinet



July 26, 1949 R. E. sKooG Erm. 2,477,393

REFRIGERATED DI SPLAY CABINET Filed Dec. 15, 1947 .Z'wembrs Bouger E. sooe down .8.3 con BWM torney ,Patented `1949l fanarts', J,

nEFmGEnA'rannrsrmy r i Ruben E. skoog aussehen. sms',

, eapoliaMinn.

Application December 13, reinsurers. '191,632

Our invention relates to improvements in a refrigerated display cabinetof a .type which has a ilrst compartment for refrlgerating. anddisplaying perishable foodstuis such as meat and dairy products, and asecond compartment particularly adapted for preserving and displayingpackaged frozen foods. In particular the invention resides in a novelform of compartment formed as an integral part of a display case andconstructed in suchva manner as to provide adequate refrigeration forfrozen foods and also to attract the attention of customers inself-service food markets.

In recent times the use of quick frozen foods has become quiteextensive, but because these foods must be maintained in a completelyfrozen condition until used, it is not practical to store them in theusual type of Arefrigerator cabinet in which other perishable foodstuffssuch as, meat and dairy products are stored since the low temperaturewhich must be maintained for the frozen foods would causeinjury to theother forms of foods. It has been the practice, therefore, in foodstores, to provide two independent refrigerators, or sets ofrefrigerators for storing and preserving these two general classes offoods. ft has also been the practice to locate the two types ofrefrigerators remote from each other, since there is no particularcommercial reason for,

maintaining them in close relationship with each other. The disadvantageof this is that the cabinets for frozen foods occupy a considerable areaof door space which not infrequently is sumcient reason to prevent agrocer from han Illing these products. Furthermore, it has been. thegeneral practice to provide independent refrigeration plants for thecooling of each. type of cabinet, which adds considerably to the cost,of handlingfrozen foods.

We have recognized that most processors of frozen foods package theirproducts in rectangu lar cartons which are of substantially uniform sizeregardless of the contents of the package. We have further recognizedthat, because of the uniformity and size of these packages, a long,narrow compartment of a size which is slightly greater than onedimension of the packages can be formed as a part of a refrigerationcabinet and that such an arrangement occupies only a relatively smallamount of floor space over that required by the cabinet itself, and alsoforms a means by which the packages-can be kept in a frozen condition.By forming the compartment of relatively narrow dimensions and formingits interior surface of a metal lining, the metal lin- 7 claims. (o1.eej-489.5)

ing may be cooled by direct contact with refrigeration coils and the'compartment can be illed with aV single row of packages which areimmediately adjacent a cooled surface. This arrangement permits theupper surface of the compartment tobe open to the atmosphere so that acustomer can readily see the frozen food products and serve himselfWhile he is obtaining other foodstuffs from the enclosed compartment, orwhere the latter compartment contains items such as meat that must becut or prepared by a clerk before a sale, the customer can select frozenfoods while waiting for service.

The particular advantage of this arrangement is that the narrowcompartment will always keep the foods in a frozen conditionirrespective of the fact that the compartment is open to the atmosphere, and yet the compartment occupies only a very small amount ofadditional space over that occupied bythe display cabinet.

Another advantage is that by combining thel l open topped refrigeration`compartment with a normally lclosed refrigeration compartment in adisplay cabinet, considerable reduction in the cost of providingrefrigeration for the two compart- Another object is to provide incombination.

with a display type refrigeration cabinet hating a sloping glass frontoccupying the upper por tion of the cabinet, a long, narrow open corn-n`partment on the front surface of the cabinet beneath the glass surfacefor displaying packaged frozen foods, the open compartment being formedwith walls which are in close proximity tothe packages so that the foodtherein may be main tained in a frozen condition by heat transfer fromthe cold Walls of the compartment.

A further object is to provide a refrigerated compartment for holding asingle row of a plurality of layers of rectangular cartons containingfrozen foods, said compartment being formed with ODDOSVing walls whichare spaced with relation to each other for a distance just slightlygreater than one dimension of the cartons so that the cartons areclosely enclosed by the walls and may be cooled by heat transfer throughlthe walls. l

Other and further objects may become apparent from the followingdescription and claims and in theY appended drawingsin which:

Fig. 1 isa perspective of a refrigeration cabinet having'an enclosedportion and an open compartment situated on the forward surface of thecabinet;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken through Fig. 1 showing theinterior construction of the invention in side elevation; and

Fig. 3 is a modification of the structure shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention will be described indetail. The general reference numeral I indicates one form of theinvention in which a cabinet lI2 composed of end walls I4 and I6,areunited with a top I8 and a bottom wall I3, and provided with a glasswindow 20, which, as shown, is composed of a plurality of layers ofglass28a, 20h and 28e angularly positioned with relation to the top I8 andextending from adjacent the top I3 to a lower portion of the frontsurface of cabinet I2., As shown, the cabinet is of a type in which acustomer may observe foodstuffs within the interior 22 of cabinet I2 andhave the same supplied to him by a clerk positioned in rear of cabinetI2, who is capable of removing the foodstuffs through a rear doorstructure 24. However, where desired, thercabinet; may be provided withdoors which open from the front side wherein the customer is free toserve himself, as is frequently the case in dispensing dairy products orthe like within self-service stores. Cabinets of ieither type aregenerally'well-known.

Extending forwardly from the cabinet and from an area beneath window 28is a second compartment 26 in the form of an open topped well which isformed as a continuation of the end walls I4 and I6 and formed integralwith the cabinet I2. Compartment 26 is formed of front wall 42li, rearwall 30, which is in fact the front wall of cabinet I0, end walls 32 and34, and a lower wall 36, and measures about one foot'in Width so as notto prevent a customer from closely approaching window 20. As shownincross section in Fig. 2, walls 28, 36 and 36, and top I8, as isequally true of walls 32 and 34 and the lower parts of compartment 22,including wall I3 are lled with insulation material 38. Within itsinterior, compartment226 is provided with a continuous metal lining4I).V f

As shown in Fig. 2, compartment 22 is cooled bulb 60 in contact with aportion of coil 42.

refrigerant f'rm conduit 54 to 'coil 42 and conduit 46 is controlled bya conventional expansion valve 56 which is in turn controlled by athermostatic Extending from conduit 64 is a branch62 which joins thelower end of coil 60. An expansion valve 64 controlled by a thermostaticbulb 66 shown 4 connected to the outlet connection from coil '50regulates thefiiow of refrigerant fluid through coil 50. Theoutlet-connections from coil 42 and coil 60 are not completely shown,but are conventional in their `connection to a refrigeration plant.

not have capacity to furnish the additional re' frigeration forYcompartment 26 other means may be used to cool compartment 26. In suchan instance an additional conduit 68, shown in Fig. 3, may extend from asecond refrigeration plaint Y to the expansion valve 64 to furnish thereby a coil 112 which extends along the under surface of the compartmentabove wall I3. Above coil 42 within compartment 22 is a perforated tray44 on which perishable foodstuffs are suitably displayed. There is alsoprovided within compartment 22 a refrigeration conduit 46 in the upperportion of the compartment, said conduit being provided with lateralfins 48'so as to provide heat transfer with the air within compartment22. Also shown in Fig. 2 are a plurality of refrigeration coils 50 forcooling compartment 26 which are on one side ofl and united to the metallining 40, as by welding or other means of rigid attachment. On theirforward side coils 50 are suitably covered and protected from theinsulation material 38 by a strip of metal 52.

A conduit 54 extends into a space 56 beneath compartment 22 and in rearof compartment 26. The conduit 54 extends from a source of fluidrefrigerant, not shown, to coil 42. The flow of `inches.

frigerant fluid needed for compartment 26.

A highly important feature of the invention resides in the dimensions ofcompartment 26. The compartment has been previously described as beingnarrow, and this has particular significance insofar as its use forstoring frozen food packages, and in minimizingV the accumulation offrost on the interior of Wthe compartment. Various forms of frozenfoods; are all packed in cartons of more `or less standard dimensions,and to a large extent this is true of the products of various packers.Most packages measure about four inches in width and are of slightlygreater length. The width of the compartment conforms with one of thesemeasurements.

As shown in Fig. Y2, a` Iplurality of packages 18 are disposed one ontop of the other in compartment 26%: The distance between the front andrear walls of metal lining 40 is slightly greater than one dimension ofthe packages "I8, whi-ch in this case is the lateral measurement of fourface Vof each package in close proximity 'to the cold forward wall ofcompartment 26 so that heat transfer may occur directly between coil 58and each package through the metal lining 40. However, in addition toproviding adequate refrigeration to each package, the fact thatcompartment 26 is relatively narrow and is open only yon the top,minimizes the circulation of air through the compartment, andthus, evenwhen the supply of packages is depleted, there is only a slight amountof frost accumulated on the inner walls of metal lining 40 since the airtherein tends to remain relatively stagnant.

The particular advantages of the invention reside in the reduction ofoor space within a store and also the reduction in cost necessary toprovide suitable refrigeration for frozen food packages.

Our invention is dened in the terms of the appended claims.

We claixruV 1. In combination with'a display type refrigeration cabinetembodying a compartment having a front wall which is principallycomposed of glass, an open topped compartment positioned on the front ofthe cabinet beneath the glass surface and exterior to the first namedcompartment and The foregoing arrangement is suitable tol .provide fluidrefrigerant to coil 42, pipe 46, and

The arrangement brings a lateral surhaving one wall in common with thefirst named compartment, and means for refrigerating the space withineach of said compartments.

2. In combination with a display type refrigeration cabinet embodying acompartment having a bottom wall and a front wall, the latter beingprincipally composed of glass, an open topped compartment positioned onthe front of the cabc 6 the well extending above the plane of the bottominet beneath the glass surface and exterior to the first namedcompartment, the upper open end of the second compartment extendingabove the bottom -wall of the first compartment, and means4 for-refrigerating the space within each of said com-partments.-

3. In combination with a display type refrigeration cabinet embodying acompartment having a bottom wall and a front wall, the latter being menthaving a bottom wall and a front wall, the

latter being principally composed of glass, an open topped well composedof front, bottom and end walls positioned on the forward surface of thecabinet and exterior to said ,compartment and having its rear wall incommonwith the front wall of the compartment, the upper open end of thewell extending above the bottom wall of the compartment, andrefrigerating means within one of said walls for cooling the spacewithin sai well.

5. In combination with a display type refrigeration cabinet embodying anenclosed compartment having a bottom lwall and a front wall, the latterbeing principally composed of glass, an open topped well composed offront, bottom and end walls positioned on the forward surface of thecabinet and exterior to said compartment and having its rear wall incommon with the front wall of the compartment, the upper open end ofwall of the compartment, a metal lining forming the interior surfaces ofthe walls of said wel1, and a refrigeration coil united to said metallining within one of said walls to provide heat transfer through saidlining within the interior of said well. p

6. In combination with a display type cabinet embodying a compartmentenclosed with lateral spaced apart end walls and a forward surface whichis principally composed of a transparent material, a relatively narrowopen topped well united with the end walls and positioned on the forwardexterior surface of the cabinet beneath the transparent surface, a firstheat exchange member within the enclosed compartment, a second heatexchange member within the open topped well, and means connecting eachof said heat exchange members with a common source of refrigerant.

7. In combination with a display type cabinet embodying a compartmentenclosed with laterally spaced apart end walls and front and rear walls,said front wall having an angularly sloping surface which terminates ina vertical surface that extends substantially to the base of thecabinet, said angularly sloping surface being composed principally of atransparent material, a narrow open topped well formed of front, bottomand end walls united with the end walls and forward surface of thecabinet and positioned on the front of the cabinet beneath the angularlysloping surface and exterior to said compartment, a

refrigerant evaporator mounted in one wall of said well, and a metalplate secured to the outer surface of saidevaporator and forming aninner `heat transfer surface within said chamber.

ROBERT E. SKOOG. JOHN B. SKOOG.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Name

